RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – The Mater Dei High boys’ basketball team took a significant step to the program’s 31st consecutive league championship Wednesday night.
The Monarchs held a three-point advantage early in the third quarter before going on to dominate the Trinity League contest at both ends of the floor the rest of the way to leave the Santa Margarita gymnasium with a 76-57 victory.
Coach Gary McKnight’s squad, No. 6 in the BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25, improved to 21-1 overall and 3-zip in league with another Trinity contest on tap in Bellflower Friday night against No. 13 St. John Bosco.
The Monarchs, while extending their win streak to 18, got double-figure scoring out of each starter with junior guard Ryan Evans – who attended Santa Margarita as a freshman and sophomore – hitting seven of eight shots from the floor (including five 3s) to score all of his team-high 19 points over the final three quarters.
Sophomore guard Devin Askew (PICTURED) scored 10 points with all 10 of his assists coming after intermission with classmate Wilhelm Breidenbach going for nine points and five rebounds in the first quarter and finishing with 15 and eight.
Breidenbach is the only returning starter for a program that won the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division title last March.
Askew was the primary defender assigned to USC-bound Max Agbonkpolo, who scored just one field goal over the first three quarters while finishing three of 10 from the field for six points.
Future UCLA Bruin Jake Kyman (while mostly being defended by former teammate Evans) led the Eagles with 19 points and five rebounds.
Senior guard Kendall McHugh’s 3-pointer got Santa Margarita to within 35-32 but it would prove to be his last bucket while finishing with 16 points.
The No. 11-ranked Eagles, who knocked off No. 2 Rancho Christian Saturday evening, dropped to 15-7 overall and 1-2 in the Trinity League.
They haven’t beaten the Monarchs in 14 years.
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